City Council Republican hopeful Craig Caruana stood in front of his new campaign headquarters, located at 64-01 Myrtle Ave., with family, friends and a number of political figures at the opening of his new campaign office on Saturday.

Mayoral candidate Joe Lhota, Queens Conservative Party leader Tom Long and Councilman Eric Ulrich were among those joining the young Queens candidate in kicking off the next part of his bid to unseat Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley.

“With scandals going on in politics, I’ve been going around and knocking on doors, people have been asking me, ‘Craig, why are you running?’” Caruana said. “And at the end of the day it all just comes down to the fact that we’re getting short changed by our current council member and her poor leadership.”

He noted the homeless shelter proposal in Glendale, blaming Crowley for new rumors about a shelter on Cooper Avenue. “Our council member found out about this a year ago,” he said. “Had I been council member over the last year, I would have worked with hat organization to find a better place for the homeless shelter.”

Ulrich and Caruana graduated from the same high school together at Cathedral Preparatory Seminary in Elmhurst.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Craig Caruana has what it takes, not only to beat Liz Crowley and get elected this November, but to serve this community honorably in the halls of city government,” Ulrich said. “If you ask me to compare Craig to the person I have to work with, there’s a big difference.”

“It is so important that we elect Craig Caruana to City Council,” said the former MTA president and now mayoral candidate Lhota. “When you look at what’s happening right now, the pandering that’s going on, we have to make sure that we have someone in City Council to make sure we can make this city again the place where we want to live, work and raise our families.”